Sam Blanckensee, TENI, ARC March 2016

5th Annual March for Choice, organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign to take place Saturday September 24th

Time: 2pm – 4pm

Venue: Gathering at the Garden of Remembrance from 1.30pm onwards, marching to Leinster House for 4pm

Speakers:
The March will be MC’d by Cathleen Shields of the Abortion Rights Campaign.

Speakers on the day will be:
Linda Kavanagh (ARC) Twitter: @bubblenoma
Rosaleen McDonagh (Traveller and Disability Rights Activist) Twitter: @paveebeoir
Louise Bruton (Legless in Dublin) Twitter: @LeglessInDublin @luberachi
Sam Blanckensee (Transgender Equality Network Ireland) Twitter: @TENI_Tweets @samwiseblank
Ellie Kisyombe (Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland)
Philomena Canning (Midwives for Choice) @Midwives4Choice
Goretti Horgan (Alliance for Choice Derry) Twitter: @All4Choice @gorettihorgan
The march will finish with a song from Mary Coughlan organised by the Artist’s Campaign to Repeal the 8th @artistsrepeal8

Theme:
The theme of this year’s march is “Rise and Repeal”, a comment on the failure of the Republic to live up to the ideals of equality set out in the 1916 Proclamation.

Speaking in advance of the March for Choice ARC Spokesperson Linda Kavanagh said: “100 years on from the Easter Rising, the equality promised in the 1916 proclamation hasn’t been realised. Women, trans men and non-binary people who may need to access abortion in Ireland, North and South, still don’t have the right to choose.

The Easter Rising sought Sovereignty and self determination for Ireland. Today, we seek the same control over our own bodies. No longer will the Irish State force us to self-administer health care by taking abortion pills (risking a fourteen year jail term), or spend thousands of euro travelling secretly to England. This year we, the women of Ireland, with the support of all those who care about equality and human rights, are self administering our independence.”

ARC spokesperson Janet O’Sullivan added: “We are tired of the delay tactics being used by successive governments who bury their heads in the sand, ignoring the urgent need and desire for change. We are tired of being told to wait – tired of being told we need a ‘calm and measured debate’ while our contributions to this debate are silenced or belittled. We are tired of seeing our sisters in the North criminalised for taking medicine which is legal in the rest of the UK, and is on the World Health Organisation’s list of essential medicines. We are afraid of what Britain’s exit from the EU will mean for our sisters living in Ireland who are not citizens. We are tired of hearing of horrific case after horrific case while yet another EU body or court tell us our laws go against international human rights standards. Women’s rights are Human Rights. There can be no freedom without Women’s freedom.

Enough blood has been spilled, enough women have died. No more death, no more silence, no more shame. This is our Rising!”

Background Information:

–The Abortion Rights Campaign is an all-island grassroots movement for choice and change, campaigning for free safe and legal abortion access in Ireland.

– The March will coincide with the annual Global Day of Action for Safe and Legal Abortion.

– 87% of Ireland’s population want broader access to abortion- see more of the
Amnesty/RedC poll results here: https://www.amnesty.ie/wp-cont ent/uploads/2016/03/Amnesty-In ternational-Ireland-February-2 016-Polling-Background-Doc.pdf

– Today Ireland rejected 16 recommendations on abortion from the Universal Periodic Review, See: http://www.abortionrightscampa ign.ie/2016/09/22/press-releas e-by-the-abortion-rights-campa ign-irish-government-continues -to-fail-women-as-it-rejects-1 6-recommendations-on-abortion/

– There is huge cross party support for a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment with TDs from across the political spectrum uniting in their call for repeal the 8th. See: http://www.abortionrightscampa ign.ie/2016/09/20/press-releas e-from-abortion-rights-campaig n-huge-cross-party-show-of-sup port-for-repeal-of-8th-amendme nt-as-politicians-pledge-to-se cure-abortion-rights-in-irelan d/